16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. ¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The reading for today was more than a bit of a double-edged sword for me this past week. On the one hand, it is offering a message that is wonderfully empowering: through the sacrifice of Christ we, and for that matter all of creation, has been made anew. As Paul writes, "everything old has passed away;… everything has become new!" It’s a great message, and something that I absolutely believe to be true.

Here’s the problem: I was so bogged down under the weight of the world, the weight that, I admit, I brought upon myself, that there was no way that any of the light of the new person that Christ created me to be could possibly be seen. Again, that’s my perspective, but that’s where I was at.

What compounded the matter is that the reading rightly declares that we are "ambassadors for Christ" and that "God is making his appeal through us". To hear that another way, since Jesus is not here in physical form, God, through the movement of the Holy Spirit, is speaking to the world through us, through our words, through our actions to declare the truth that is the sacrifice and resurrection of the Christ, the love that is of the Almighty.

As I thought about that, the only thing that I could think about was, "o man, what kind of message is the world picking up from me? Whatever it is, it can’t be good, and as for a new creation, umm…well, not this week."

So that’s where I was. Using the fixer mentality that is part of who I am, I invariably asked the question, "Why? Why am I walking around with this figurative cloud hanging over my head?"

On Thursday night, as I’m laying there, pretending to be asleep, it hit me like a ton of bricks, "Ryan, you’re feeling this way because of those important things that you have continued to put off, and have left undone. The light of the new creation is going to be buried and left greatly unseen unless you start to deal with those things." (It’s more than a little scary when you start talking to yourself in complete paragraphs!)

Now mind you, I’m not thinking about the dishes that may have been sitting in the sink or the shirt that may have been hanging in the closet, I’m referring to people whom I have needed to talk with, and people whom I have needed to spend time with. I had been finding every reason in the world to say, "I’ll get there in a few minutes." Invariably a few minutes turns into a few hours, a few weeks, a few months. With each excuse I allowed a little bit more of the world to get piled on me, so much so that as the snow began falling on Friday, all I could think to myself was, "I’ll take the big shovel, please. I’ve got a lot of digging to do. It’s time to let the world see the light that God has created me to be."

I don’t make that statement in a braggadocios fashion (yes, I just used the word braggadocios!). Because what does Paul say so very clearly? "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation". In the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus we have been made new; we have been reconciled, we have had our relationship with the Author of all life renewed. All of us! I know that I have said this several times before, but the fact that you are here today is evidence of the movement of the Spirit of God in Your life. I’m not saying that you’ve got all the answers, but I am saying that God is in your life and is working at you. Because of this Presence in your life, you have been made new! You may not necessarily see it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

This is why Paul says, "we regard no one from a human point of view." Instead, we need to view each other with eyes of faith, and see the new thing that the Lord has allowed our lives to be transformed into. We need to see that newness in others, and also in ourselves, and understand that because God has made us new, we have the opportunity to share the message of life with the world. We are "ambassadors" of the Lord God Almighty to world that is so lost and broken.

But this brings us right back around to the fact, that is so frighteningly easy to allow the burdens of that lost and broken world to become heaped upon us in such a fashion that we wonder if the newness actually exists, let alone if it could ever shine out.

So what do we do? In those times where we feel like we’re buried, what do we do?

Well, to begin with, stop moping. You are not the first to feel burdened, you are not the only one who has ever felt burdened, and you will not be the last person who will feel that sort of pressure. Simply put, most of us, dare I say almost all of us, have had those periods of time when we have felt like there was no way that we could get going in a positive direction. What we need to remember is that our faith is founded in an event that not only said "this can’t get going in a positive direction" but screamed "its only going to get worse". Our faith is founded upon the crucifixion of an innocent man, and yet it was through that death (and his ultimate resurrection) that the gift of life eternal, and the opportunity to be made anew was a possibility at all. Stop moping. You’re not the only one to feel the way you do.

Secondly, recognize that you are not alone. The author of all life that has promised us that we do not take these journeys that we call our life without companionship. Once again, Jesus would not have been sent to live and die in this world if God was going to let us wander off and get lost under the weight of the world. Think of the example of the Good Shepherd. Here was an individual who was willing to leave the ninety-nine in order to save one. God is the shepherd! We are that sheep. But not only will God go with us, but that is why we have the family of faith, so that we can know that regardless of what we may face we are not alone! Trust that. Believe that. Never forget that.

Finally, once you recognize that it is time to get moving in a positive direction, to dig out from those things that you have allowed to bury you, then prayerfully set a plan and, with the help of God, follow through on that plan.

For me, I literally had to write out a list of the calls I had to make and the people I needed to see. Once I made contact with each person I placed a check mark beside his or her name. Did each of the contacts go as well as if I hadn’t found every reason under the sun to not call or go? No, it didn’t.

But as I made these contacts I was able to begin to stand up a little straighter and know that the new creation that God had made me to be was starting to be seen by the world around me.

But before that could happen I had to stop feeling sorry for myself, I had to recognize that I wasn’t alone (and therefore digging out wasn’t pointless), and then I had to lean on God and follow through on the plan to dig out.

In the blood of Christ we are made anew, and given the opportunity and privilege to share the light of God with the world. However, if we allow the weight of the world to be thrown upon us it will feel like we are worthless, and that life is pointless. Look around at the world! Think about how many people you know who are living this way right now.

But we have a choice. Let us follow the leading of the Spirit and get out from the burdens that we have taken on. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, know you’re not alone, and then follow through on that plan to start moving in a positive direction. You may need a big shovel. And that’s alright. You have been made anew and you are worth the hard work. Allow the light of God to shine! Let’s get digging!

Holy God, in our scripture this morning we have heard that in Your son, we have been made anew. Lord, we trust this promise to be true, and yet at the same time there are so many days when the last thing that we feel like is the light of the world. God, help us to lean upon Your supportive Spirit so that we might dig out from underneath the weight that we have allowed to be placed upon us. Lord, let us show Your light to the world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.